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Existence
(al-Wujud): it is obligatory to believe in the Existence of
Allah. Allah exists without a beginning, without an ending and
without a place.
Allah exists without a place or shape
(al-Wujud).
Surat
Ibraheem, ayah 10:
أَفِي
اللّهِ شَكٌّ
“The
existence of Allah is indubitable.” Mental Proof-Allah exists and
is not similar to the other created things. To resemble the creation
is to be susceptible to the same weaknesses as that creation. Allah
existed before He created place, and His existence does not
change.
Oneness (al-Wahdaniyyah): It is obligatory
to believe Allah is One without a partner. Allah is One in His Self,
Attributes and Creating-hence Allah has no equal.
Allah is One
(al-Wahdaniyya).
لَوْ
كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
لَفَسَدَتا
“Had
there been other Gods for the heaven and Earth other than Allah, they
(heaven and Earth) would not have existed.” Mental Proof-Allah is
one, not in terms of numbers, but terms of Oneness in His
Godhood.
Allah has no beginning (al-Qidam) i.e.
al-Azaliyyah).
Surat
al-Hadid, ayah 3:
هُوَ
الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ
“Allah
is the One whose existence is without a beginning and without an
end.” Mental Proof-The Creator has no beginning. The creation has a
beginning. The one with a beginning must have a Creator to create
it.
*(al-Qidam): It is obligatory to believe Allah has no
beginning to His existence. His attributes also have no beginning.
Everything other than Allah has a beginning. Allah is the only one
without a beginning.
Allah has no end (al-Baqa’).
Surat al-Hadid, ayah 3:
هُوَ
الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ
“Allah
is the One whose existence is without a beginning and without an
end.” Mental Proof-The Creator has no end. The creation has an end.
The one with an end must have a Creator to Will that
end.
Everlastingness (al-Baqa‘): It is obligatory to believe
Allah is Everlasting i.e., His Existence does not
end.
Non-Resemblance to the Creations
(al-Mukhalafatu
lil-hawadith): Allah does not resemble any of His creations–neither
in His Self nor in His Attributes nor in His Creating.
Allah
does not resemble any of His creations (al-Mukhalafatu
lil-Hawadith).
Surat ash-Shura, ayah 11:
لَيْسَ
كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ
البَصِيرُ
“Nothing
resembles Allah in any way whatsoever.” Mental Proof-Allah is
greatly clear of the attributes of the creations, because the
attributes of the creations indicate that the creatures are in need
of a Creator. Had Allah been attributed with any of these created
attributes, He would have been in need of one who created Him, and
Allah is clear of that.
Sight (al-Basar): It is
obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Sight. The sight of
Allah has no beginning and no end. Allah sees all what is seeable
without a pupil, instrument or any other means.
Allah has the
attribute of Sight (al-Basar).
Surat
ash-Shura, ayah 11:
لَيْسَ
كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ
البَصِيرُ
“Nothing
resembles Allah in any way whatsoever, and Allah is attributed with
Hearing and Sight. Mental Proof-Allah sees all the seeable things,
without the need of an eye or light. Allah’s attribute of Sight is
not like the sight of the creation. Our sight depends on organs
(eyes) and light.
Hearing (as-Sam^): It is
obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Hearing. This is an
attribute of Allah which also has no beginning and is everlasting.
Allah hears all the hear-able things. He hears without an ear,
without means, and without instruments.
Allah has the attribute
of Hearing (as-Sam^).
Surat
ash-Shura, ayah 11:
لَيْسَ
كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ
البَصِيرُ
“Nothing
resembles Allah in any way whatsoever, and Allah is attributed with
Hearing and Sight. Mental Proof-Allah hears all of the hearable
things without the need of an ear or any other instrument. Allah’s
attribute of Hearing is not like the hearing of the creation. Our
hearing depends on an organ (ear) and sound resonation.
Speech
(al-Kalam): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with
Speech (Kalam). The Kalam of Allah has no beginning and is an
everlasting attribute with which Allah orders, forbids, and informs.
It is not a letter nor a sound nor a language. The Qur’an and the
other revealed Books are expressions of the eternal Kalam of the Self
of Allah.
Allah has the attribute of Speech (al-Kalam).
Surat
an-Nisa’, ayah 164:
وَكَلَّمَ
اللّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا
“Allah
spoke to Musa with His Speech (Kalam).” Mental Proof-The Speech of
Allah is not like the speech of the creations. The Speech of Allah is
not a sound or a letter or a language. It does not depend on organs
(lips, teeth and tongue) and it does not resonate in the ear. The
Speech of Allah does not start and stop. Like all of the Attributes
of Allah, it has no beginning and no end.
Life
(al-Hayah): It is obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with
Life. The Life of Allah also has no beginning and no end. The Life of
Allah is not like our life. Our life is a combination of body and
soul; however, the Life of Allah is not.
Allah has the Attribute
of Life (al-Hayah).
Suratul-Baqarah,
ayah 255:
اللّهُ
لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ
الْقَيُّومُ
“No
one is God except Allah, the One who is attributed with Life and is
not in need of anything.” Mental Proof-Allah has the attribute of
Life, but His life is not like the life of the creations. The
creations are alive with flesh, blood and souls. The creations occupy
the six directions, exist in places, and need sustenance. Allah is
greatly clear from the attributes of the creations. The one who
possesses the attributes of the creations is susceptible to the same
weaknesses that the creations are susceptible to. This weakness does
not befit Allah, ta^ala.
Knowledge (al-^Ilm): It is
obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Knowledge. The
knowledge of Allah has no beginning and no end. This is an attribute
of His Self that does not increase, decrease or develop. Allah knows
eternally about His Self, attributes, and what He creates. Nothing is
absent from His Knowledge.
Allah has the attribute of Knowledge
(al-^Ilm).
Surat
al-‘Anfal, ayah 75:
إِنَّ
اللّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
“Allah
has the perfect knowledge of everything.” Mental proof-Allah has
the attribute of knowledge, but His knowledge is not like the
knowledge of the creations. The Knowledge of Allah does not increase
or decrease. If we say that there is something that Allah does not
know about yet, this is attributing ignorance to Allah, and ignorance
does not befit Allah. Allah’s Knowledge is perfect, without a
beginning or an end.
Will (al-‘Iradah): It is
obligatory to believe Allah is attributed with Will. The Will of
Allah has no beginning and no end, by His will Allah specifies that
which is intellectually possible with certain attributes rather than
others.
Allah has the attribute of Will (al-Iradah).
Suratat-Takwir,
ayah 29:
وَمَا
تَشَاؤُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاء اللَّهُ
رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“You
do not will anything except by the Will of Allah, the Lord of the
Worlds.” Mental Proof-Everything that Allah Willed in eternity for
it to exist must come into existence at the time which Allah Willed
for it to exist. Nothing will exist unless Allah willed for it to
exist.
Power (al-Qudrah): It is obligatory to
believe Allah is attributed with Power.
Allah’s Power has no
beginning and no end, by His Power Allah brings into existence that
which is intellectually possible to exist or annihilates it after its
existence.
Allah has the attribute of Power (al-Qudrah).
Suratal-Baqarah,
ayah 109:
إِنَّ
اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Allah
has the perfect Power over all things.” Mental Proof-Allah has
power over all things. He is not powerless over anything. To be
powerless against a creation would mean that Allah had a weakness,
and weakness does not befit Allah.
Allah does not need
anything (al-Qiyamubin-Nafs).
Surat
al-^Imran, ayah 97:
فَإِنَّ
الله غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Allah
does not need any of the worlds.” Mental Proof-Allah does not need
anything, and everything needs Him. Weakness and need are attributes
of the creations, and not an attribute of the creator. Non-neediness
of others (al-Qiyamu bin-Nafs): Allah does not need anything.
In
his famous treatise on the Sunni creed, Imam al-Tahawi (d.321AH)uses
the word ‘al-Qadim’ to refer to Allah, meaning pre-existing or
without beginning. This has attracted criticism by some
contemporaries who deem such wording as baseless, with some even
calling it a bid’a. Such a rash claim against as great a figure as
al-Tahawi is harsh, considering the following:
In
al-Hakim’s al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn we find al-Qadim listed
as one of the Names of Allah (volume 1, page 239, hadith #42 in the
2014 Dar al-Ta’sil edition).
Now then, all the narrators in
this chain are used by al-Bukhari and Muslim, except for ‘Abd
al-‘Aziz b. Husayn al-Turjuman, who is considered weak by
al-Bukhari, Muslim, Yahya b. Ma’in, and Ibn ‘Adi.
Another
narration is found in Sunan Abi Dawud (hadith #466 in Shu’ayb
al-Arna’ut’s edition) whereby Allah’s Authoratative Power
(Sultanih) is described as al-Qadim. Bear in mind that Allah’s
Attributes are inseperable from His Essence.
In summary,
condemning al-Tahawi,
one of the great hadith scholars, for using a word to describe Allah
that was in currency among hadith narrators, in light of the above,
long before theologians exerted their influence on the sciences, is a
harsh stance to take. Rather than deeming it a baseless innovation,
the best stance would be that it is at least based on a weak hadith
and can be used to describe one of Allah’s attributes
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